Sara Goes to Hollywood

It’s not your fault that Brendan and Sara watched Good Will Hunting. It’s not your fault that they discussed the nature of genius, the parallels with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s careers, and the meaning of ‘them apples’. It’s not your fault that they found the slow motion fight scene bizarre and cheesy. It’s not your fault that there was more haiku-based hilarity in a bountifully Bostonian edition of poetry corner. It’s not your fault.

I should like to change into a podcaster most of all: Brendan and Sara hotwire the nearest convertible and speed down the interstate discussing 1971 cult classic Harold and Maude. We chat beautiful friendships, the ethics of tree theft, and the pointedly un-Romeo-and-Juliet-like ending of this bizarre, wonderful film. Plus poetry corner returns with another irresistible instalment of life-affirming haiku energy. I couldn’t imagine a lovelier podcast.

Sara and Brendan hit the slopes to glide through Ruben Östlund’s alpine romp Force Majeure (2014). An avalanche of accurate synopsis and insightful commentary descends over the pod as we chat ski infrastructure, primal screaming, and holiday childcare etiquette. Après-ski, a blizzard of beauty beckons in a suitably sublime iteration of poetry corner. Don’t look down!

Don’t worry listeners: it’s not a war film! Sara and Brendan don their hats and booties to brave the long, long winter of Groundhog Day. We discuss this seasonal classic’s manifold meanings, including the inevitability of death, the futility of forecasting, and (once again) the importance of hobbies. Plus the eternal poetry corner recurs with a flamboyantly French foray into haiku wisdom. Whatever happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life, I'm happy now… because I love podcasting.

You can’t just tap people on the shoulder anymore - you have to hit them with a podcast. In this episode, Sara and Brendan team up to investigate the fiendish crimes of David Fincher’s slick 1995 thriller Se7en. There’s thoughtful reflection on the pleasures of counting, biblical exegesis, and le Corbusier furniture; plus of course your usual dose of haiku medicine in poetry corner. Don’t miss this episode’s conclusion, where we unveil Mansplaining Moments, a new segment devised to punish the eighth deadly sin: male pedantry. This isn’t going to have a happy ending…

Listen up, maggot! We believe in two things: discipline and podcasting. Join us as we do some hard time in New England’s finest penitentiary with the Shawshank Redemption. We chat prison design, Michel Foucault, and smoking while incarcerated. Plus there’s haiku fun as always in a radically reform-minded edition of poetry corner. Get busy listening, or get busy podcasting.

Sara was heard: to begin with. Put on your stovepipe hat and trim those mutton chops, because it's time to talk about everyone's favourite foam-and-felt festive classic, The Muppet Christmas Carol! Taking the lead from Gonzo and Rizzo, in this episode Sara and Brendan spar over the Muppetry's masterpiece, with tinsel-tangling digressions on topics including notorious deleted aria, 'When Love is Gone', the three major categories in Muppet taxonomy, and the nature of Muppet-master Jim Henson's genius. Plus there's thunderous Tennysonian tones in a monstrously Malthusian edition of poetry corner. This is culture!

Stop press! Sara and Brendan mount the rostrum to eulogise Orson Welles’ obituary-themed opus, Citizen Kane. How did Welles get to Hollywood? Why did mid-century newsreaders talk like that? And who exactly is this “Rosebud” character? Plus a very special edition of poetry corner gets down and dirty in that deep romantic chasm which slanted down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover. We finish with some intriguing listener correspondence to clear up any nagging doubts about the use of wigs in cinema.